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It
couldn’t be further from the conventional period drama
with the nipped-waist bodices and ostentatious
accessories that frequently garner award-show attention
for costuming. Nonetheless, “The Girl With the Dragon
Tattoo,” the American film based on the first book of
Stieg Larsson’s popular Millennium trilogy, is likely
to attract some attention with its hard-hitting looks
that reflect a darker side of contemporary street
fashion.
The
producers of the film, which opens Dec. 20, put together
a style dream team to transform actress Rooney Mara into
Lisbeth Salander, a waifish, goth-punk heroine who
becomes an unlikely ally for a journalist involved in a
twisted mystery.
Trish
Summerville, the veteran stylist and costume designer
(former clients include Christina Aguilera and Pink)
created the costumes. Pat McGrath, recognized in fashion
and cosmetic circles as one of today’s most
influential makeup artists, designed Salander’s
hollow-cheeked, kohl-eyed look. And Danilo (longtime
hairstylist to Gwen Stefani) envisioned the blunt bowl
cut that frames Mara’s pale and delicate features.
“The
thing that stood out was how tiny she was, but she also
has this ferocious velocity about her even though
she’s so slight,” Summerville says about the
Salander character. The designer worked to make Mara
look as thin and asexual as possible, pairing pieces so
the character’s silhouette is tight at top and loose
at the bottom. (Salander walks the streets in fitted
leather biker jackets, drop-crotch cargo pants and
plenty of piercings.) “I wanted her to have this
external shell like a protection around her,”
Summerville adds.
Mara
portrayed a college student who looks like the girl next
door in the 2010 film, “The Social Network,” and
Summerville says the strawberry-blond actress was open
to a dramatic transformation for “Girl.” “Her face
has such a striking bone structure,” Summerville says.
“She has a long thin neck and intense eyes. You can do
anything to that face.
“Her
look (as Salander) is very animalistic,” Summerville
says. “Her strength is unexpected.”
Summerville
tapped a couple of L.A.-based designers for the
character’s signature leather jackets. Cerre, a
company that has just taken over the old Costume
National space on Melrose Avenue as its new atelier,
created one of the jackets as well as a leather
backpack. The other jacket was made by Agatha Blois, who
has designed custom leather pieces for Aerosmith and
Sheryl Crow. Summerville aged and distressed the jackets
(and most of the Salander wardrobe) to give them a
well-worn feel true to the punk-influenced character.
The
jackets are accompanied by layers of thermal shirts and
pants as well as fleece hoodies, which makes for a
drapey, cloaked silhouette — adding to the
character’s mystery.
Other
pieces worn by Salander, such as jeans, thermals and
torn T-shirts, were pulled from mass-market brands
including Sweden’s H&M, Germany’s Closed and the
British label All Saints. The chunky leather moto boots
were made by Belstaff as well as Fiorentini and Baker.
Summerville also dressed her unconventional heroine in
custom-made sneakers to convey a sporty-streetwise
sensibility.
The
worn-in, rough-and-tumble pieces provided inspiration
for Summerville’s collection for H&M, which went
on sale Dec. 14. The line contains several pieces that
are replicas of (or inspired by) items featured in the
movie, including a leather jacket and waffle thermals.
Other garments — black skinny jeans and muted colored
hoodies — were designed to convey the brooding
darkness of the Salander character.
The
character, with her piercings, bleached eyebrows, bowl
cut and military-meets-the mosh-pit sense of style,
doesn’t exactly shriek “fashion icon,” but it’s
possible the edgy look will inspire a new generation of
street style.
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